Snow

We have had snow for a while, but last night a fresh two inches arrived and I managed to get these shots.


Am absolutely shattered after several hours at the church fund-raising Snowman Day. I was on my feet serving soup and washing-up, without insoles in my shoes, because I was wearing furry boots plus tights plus socks for warmth. So my 'bad' foot is really sore. HoF has kindly gone to finish my stint of the clearing up. I just can't work out how come I'm so feeble. The woman in charge of the soup department, older than me, is going on to a dance tonight whilst I am dreaming of a hot bath and an early night. Last night, after a busy day sorting deliveries for the village mag and baking for today, we took advantage of our 'facilities' to watch a video from bed. Saw 'The Horse Whisperer', good film though rather long drawn out. Can't see what other women see in Robert Redford though, why he should be classed a heartthrob. Not a patch on Gregory Peck!
It's thawing now but we hope the snow will hang on till Friday.

Girls night

On Tuesday evening I had a Girls' Night. Yes I know I'm not a girl any longer, but it cheers us up to call it that, and I could hardly call it Old Ladies' Night.
I made four desserts plus cheese and biscuits and invited a bunch of friends over. Three couldn't make it, either due to cold, snow or tiredness, so we were down to six. As a consequence HoF and I are still eating the leftovers. After the eats and a good natter, we watched 'Enchanted April' one of my favourite films, and a birthday present. The evening was voted a great success, although the sugar rush woke us two up at 4am for a cuppa.
Let's do it again, they said.

Take a look at this. A wonderful burst of joy in the temple of materialism. I love the idea of random acts of culture.
We are supposed to be working on the village newsletter but keep getting distracted by interesting emails etc. I do wonder if a modern day equivalent of a spiritual fast might be a day of total quiet, a day without the computer, rather than going without food. Makes me think of Jesus saying 'I have food to eat you know not of'. We seem to eat a lot of 'alternative' food.

3x21

Happy Birthday, Me

HoF's choice, the cheeseboard! No he didn't get to eat all of this but he had three choices, plus dainty little jars with various chutneys and a fan of unusual crackers. Fantastic.

Birthday treat

For my birthday treat, and because Miss P is with us and would appreciate the experience, we went out for lunch at a renowned restaurant in Ludlow. It is not just a good food experience but a drama and piece of art. Excellent waiters with Peter Sellers style French accents (I think they really are French, but you know what I mean: 'do you 'ave a rrrroom?') who are very attentive and even delicately refold your napkin if you leave the room.
There are three courses but also in between courses, for example, Chef's pre-dessert. Each course thus is dinky but still results in a happy tummy by the end. The bread accompaniment consists of six dainty rolls baked together, of three different flavours. The pre-starter nearly made me laugh out loud. A huge bowl with three teeny slices of pepper and a fragment of basil leaf (the waitress puts her hands together and carefully describes what is before you even though you can barely understand what she says). It reminded me of an Alan Ayckbourn play where one actor is presented with a single lettuce leaf and says 'is this all for me?' Then from a jug she pours on crab bisque and the flavours are heavenly. The list of ingredients for each course occupies two lines, and even though the waiter says 'and for you madam.........' you still aren't sure what you're eating because the menus have been whipped away. All great fun and such things as one would never cook at home. I think Swiss Son would love it.

My starter: salmon, something with celery and celeriac, a sorbet........

Main course: lamb shank, with pearl barley, salsa verde, winter veg

Dessert: apple and blackberry, and something with honeycomb crust.
All good value, but beware the wine prices unless you're a wine buff who appreciates what your getting. We had a 'glass of wine, which was like an egg cupful in a large glass.

Swiss trip

We have had eight nights ('I like you stay eight nights, Grandma') in Switzerland visiting Ben and family. The day we arrived, the children were given two kittens. We felt like we became the Cats Protection League overnight! Youngest granddaughter found that when squeezed her kitty gave a surprising squeal, just like a dolly!
We looked after them (the girls, not the cats) on several occasions, sometimes in a lakeside play area without any other children, and also once at an enormous play barn with loads.
We were also treated by our three children to anniversary celebrations of our 40th. One was to see Silo8, an amazing outdoor spectacle, rather like a pantomime for adults, but that understates it. It was a comedy with pathos, an engineering feat with floating carousels and airborne boats, music and fire. Quite amazing. And we also had a meal for two one evening in a swish hotel with champagne on the house.



Help with the luggage

Now we are back home, and enjoying the company of Miss P who is currently signed off work.

Africa United

This film was given quite a lot of publicity in the press before it was released, with mention made of the director's missionary roots. We went to see it on Tuesday in the scruffiest cinema I've been in, but then I don't go often. Maybe because it was a late afternoon showing, we had to find a seat that wasn't littered with popcorn and discarded drinks cartons. To think that many years ago my school had used this venue for its annual Speech Day. However, in spite of this and a flickery screen, we enjoyed the film. It's unusual but then Africa isn't Europe, so you'd expect a few shocks and reality checks with child soldiers and child sex workers, and Aids also featuring largely.
Sadly the film is being pulled from some cinemas today as it wasn't a box office success. You'll see some reviews on this link. Perhaps it's problem is the mixed audience it's aimed at. It's billed as a '12', a family film, but I guess not everyone would appreciate such things as the opening shot for their children, of a condom being inflated for use as a football. To me it seemed funny and perfectly plausible, given the African ingenuity for recycling.
If you get the chance, go and see it, or rent the DVD. You may find subtitles useful. The title is well chosen, a bunch of kids, pulling together as a team in spite of their varied backgrounds, and achieving their goal, literally and figuratively. A metaphor for something else, maybe...........